Soon, the two of them passed through the "mining tunnel" and arrived at an open space.

Upon reaching the clearing, the dazzling white Immortal Light was so bright that the Groundhog couldn’t open its eyes for a moment.

After it rubbed its eyes and took a closer look, its pupils suddenly contracted, and even its breathing paused slightly.

On this clearing, which was several thousand meters wide, various kinds of "Spirit Stones" were piled up.

These were not ordinary Spirit Stones; they were top-grade treasures, top-grade material resources!

Taichu Profound Stone, Top-Grade Holy Dragon Crystal, Glazed Thousand Sun Stone, Nine Nether Inference Sacred Stone, Ancient Nether Iron... the ones with names, and the nameless ones, there were around twenty different kinds in total!

Moreover, each kind was piled into several small mounds, with each pile estimated to contain tens of thousands of pieces, weighing a dozen tons!

The Top-Grade Holy Dragon Crystal was the pinnacle of Spirit Stone Currency in the Ten Thousand Realms; one piece of Top-Grade Holy Dragon Crystal, if converted into Top-Grade Spirit Stones, would already be an astronomical figure.

One could say that Top-Grade Holy Dragon Crystal had transcended the realm of "Spirit Stone Currency" and had become a treasure in itself, which couldn’t be simply measured by Spirit Stone conversion.

Just alone, the Top-Grade Holy Dragon Crystal reached an exaggerated weight of over a hundred tons!

Oh my goodness, you should know, this Top-Grade Holy Dragon Crystal is just the most common among these twenty or so top-grade materials.

For example, the Glazed Thousand Sun Stone, which is recorded in ancient texts as a sacred stone, with legends about it circulating through countless versions of ancient texts.

The Groundhog considered itself to have seen the world, but the scene before it completely refreshed its worldview, and for a moment, it seemed to transform into a country bumpkin.

The feeling of a country bumpkin entering the city was vividly displayed on him at this moment.

...

Compared to the Groundhog, the Iron-Eating Beast appeared relatively calm, just giving it a simple glance.

It slightly furrowed its brow, murmuring, "Something’s not right...."

"It’s absolutely right!" the Groundhog exclaimed, its eyes lighting up.

.....

"Brother Shi, shall we?"

The Groundhog rubbed its hands together eagerly. (At this moment, the little song from Fast & Furious 7 plays.)

"Shall we what?"

"Get to work!"

"Sure!"

With that, the Groundhog waved its big hand, and various Storage Magical Artifacts flew out from its body, different-colored Immortal Lights interwoven in the cave, while the Spirit Stones on the ground were continuously absorbed into the Magical Artifacts.

To make it easier to distinguish, different types of ore were stored in different Magical Artifacts, so it would be easier to tally them up later.

The Iron-Eating Beast, with its hands clasped behind its back, wandered around searching for something, muttering to itself, "Something’s not right.... Something’s not right...."

The Groundhog, meanwhile, collected treasures while shouting, "Too right, this is absolutely right!"

....

"Little Mouse Head, you must calculate this properly for me."

"There must be no mistakes."

"Though the abacus is small, it’s much larger compared to my head."

"Remember, what you’re dialling with your hand is the heads of the two of us."

The Iron-Eating Beast solemnly instructed the Groundhog, who was tallying up the treasures.

"Rest assured, Brother Shi, I’ve been doing this tallying job for years and have never lost a single old tooth," the Groundhog said, patting its chest.

"Be careful with everything, and there will be no mistakes," the Iron-Eating Beast advised the Groundhog.

...

"Brother Shi, are the treasures you usually eat found by yourself?"

The Groundhog suddenly recalled something important and tentatively asked.

"Of course, what else?"

"Think I’m just lazy and gluttonous?"

The Iron-Eating Beast gave the Groundhog a lesson: "The master bears great pressure and responsibility; we, as subordinates, must do our best to relieve the master’s troubles."

"Not to mention anything else, if you can’t even solve three meals a day on your own, what big accomplishments can you hope to achieve?"

"The master guards the River of Time; every move affects the Ten Thousand Realms’ balance. We can’t trouble the master with minor issues."

"One must be self-reliant; start by resolving your own meals!"

Feeling ashamed, the Groundhog nodded after the Iron-Eating Beast’s lecture.

"I’m not pointing fingers at you."

"You help the master expand the herb garden and eat from the garden’s Great Medicine treasures, so that’s also self-reliance."

If the Iron-Eating Beast hadn’t added this, the Groundhog might not have been able to sleep tonight and would end up reflecting all night.

After hearing this, the Groundhog held great respect for the Iron-Eating Beast; from this moment, its stereotypical impression of Brother Shi was completely dispelled.

Lazy and gluttonous?

Eating only treasures it found on its own!

Even while sleeping, it never left its post, and there was never any danger or flaw at home.

This is what is called professionalism!

This is what it means to steadfastly hold your position!

Previously, its vision was too narrow.

Going back this time, it must thoroughly explain to the other four to learn from Brother Shi.

What does worldly wisdom mean? Beneath a simple exterior lies a detailed mind, great wisdom in simplicity!

.....

"Brother Shi, it’s all tallied up; it’s all here."

The Groundhog said to the Iron-Eating Beast.

Upon hearing this, the Iron-Eating Beast selected a large piece of Ancient Nether Iron, a fist-sized Taichu Profound Stone, as well as three Nine Nether Inference Sacred Stones.

And handed them to the Groundhog.

Seeing this, the Groundhog quickly waved its hands, "Brother Shi, Brother Shi, I cannot accept this!"

"These treasures, we must bring them all back for the master to tally; I can’t benefit myself!"

Upon hearing this, the Iron-Eating Beast tossed the items to the Groundhog, saying, "What nonsense, it’s not for you."

"Isn’t Xiao Wu’s Treasure Sword broken?"

"After all, it’s partly my fault."

"These materials are just right for forging a decent Treasure Sword, perhaps even better than the broken one."

"Listen up: use Ancient Nether Iron for the blade, Taichu Profound Stone for inlaying, and Nine Nether Inference Sacred Stone for the hilt...."

After listening, the Groundhog stood there stunned.

It never expected Brother Shi would still be concerned about Xiao Wu’s broken sword.

"Taking these, the master won’t mind or blame us."

"We’re all family, any issue can be resolved."

"Think of these as my apology gift to Xiao Wu."

Upon hearing this from the Iron-Eating Beast, tears nearly welled up in the Groundhog’s eyes.

Despite appearing not too bright, Brother Shi is really... so gentle, so considerate!

"Brother Shi, on behalf of Xiao Wu, I thank you now." The Groundhog didn’t refuse and accepted these treasures.

"No big deal, all small matters."

....

With that said, the Iron-Eating Beast continued its patrol.

After a while.

The Iron-Eating Beast’s excited voice came through: "I knew it! It’s absolutely not just these, the real treasures were hidden here!"

Hearing this, the Groundhog hurriedly stored everything neatly into its Dantian Space, then ran over to the Iron-Eating Beast.